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Stream of conscious review that needs work. I’d be happy to actually explain more if needed to make it more concise. I am fully expecting that the review left for me is the first bad one out of 13 on a new listing. When did reviews get a limited number of characters?
Private suite in my house…private entrance, foyer, bedroom and ensuite bathroom.
Laurence booked a private suite in my home for Friday and Saturday nights the Monday before and was a clean and quiet guest while here. However, he did not follow several house rules. He didn’t appear to have even read them, even after several requests, when he was unable to check-in when he arrived well after the generous time window he requested had ended. An unfortunate battery failure of the smart lock exacerbated his problem and he left the spare key unsecured on the porch. His responses turned even more negative, even justifying it since he owns his own Airbnb, when I sent him the request to pay for the 2 additional people that checked-in with him as he had booked only for himself. He refused to pay since they didn’t stay, which is understandable but contrary to House Rules. He then stopped reading messages, for over 18 hours, even overnight at the house, where he had access to WiFi, including one requesting a good time for me to replace the batteries without disturbing him or his privacy. He even left his review without even reading all my messages so I cannot recommend him to other hosts.
“Laurence booked a private suite in my home for Friday and Saturday nights the Monday before and was a clean and quiet guest while here. However, this time, he did not follow several house rules. He arrived well after the generous time window he requested. He left the spare key unsecured on the porch. He refused to pay the request to pay for the 2 additional people that checked-in with him (as he had booked only for himself). He then stopped reading messages, for over 18 hours, including one requesting a good time for me to replace the batteries without disturbing him or his privacy. I cannot recommend him to other hosts.”
Also, forgot to mention he didn’t follow other check out requirements either…left wet towels on the hard wood floors.
And, he, like several other recent guests, used several towels and washcloths from the linen closet and never used the ones put out for the single guest (I know based on the manner of the folds). Any thoughts on this recent trend?
For whatever reason, some guests think the ones in the cupboard are cleaner and less “used” than the ones left out…its a bit like people with pets wanting to stay at non pet friendly listings because they are “cleaner”
Maybe the linen cupboard needs a key… Even though it makes changeovers more difficult and I have to find storage for all the linens elsewhere, I decided against keeping any ‘spare’ linens in the property for this very reason.
There seem to be guests who will help themselves to whatever is not locked down.
I’ve never had this experience, as I only host one guest in a private room, and leave them adequate towels- there’s no linen closet to access.
But there were the 2 guys in my neighbor’s place that I was co-hosting for them once, who went through 17 bath towels in a week. Every time they took a shower or used the pool, they must have taken a clean towel out of the cupboard.
We lock the cupboard where we store all our “host stuff” like cleaning utensils (guests have their own cupboard with cleaning utensils!), refills, towels etc. to facilitate turnover time.
Never, ever, do the guests have access to additional amenities than the ones we provide on check-in. Guests are informed that if they need ANYTHING, to reach out to us so we can bring it to them which offers another opportunity to inquire about their stay in person (we live on-site, home office and respond within minutes). They do get more than enough TP, so usually there is never a request for it or they get their own, preferred TP.
I’ve read several times on this forum that some guests just use every piece of amenity they could find, especially back-up towels stored separately. That’s just an additional annoyance and I would restrict access to that.
As someone has already said here- put a lock on the cupboard- or don’t put anything out you don’t want to be used during the stay.
Ive learned that the hard way.
Understood. I intentionally haven’t locked it because I also put things for them to use at will like extra individual toiletries and the like that they are welcome to take as much as they want. I suppose I would be better served to put those under the sink and then lock the linen closet. Then only give them the code if I am not around and they need them. This might be if they have an accident, prefer more towels and/or washcloths than I provide, or extend their stay and then need more towels, washcloths, bedding.
My question though, was more about whether to include the placing of wet towels on a hardwood floor at checkout instead of the tub as is indicated in the checkout instructions.
My latest guest didn’t know how to checkin. He hadn’t read the instructions.
Another guest left the lights and ac on- you’d think they would know to turn them off on departure.
My point is, we hosts can’t predict our guests’ behaviour. Perhaps a basket with a label ‘wet towels’ might help in your case ?
Ive learned to check my place promptly on the guests’ departure.
Classic. One of our studio’s entrance is at the bottom of the stairs. Whenever the guests leave, they walk down the stairs and face a custom made canvas poster, right above the door (literally 2 feet away from their face), that is supposed to serve as a reminder in case they forgot their keys, phone, glasses, wallet and to close the roof windows. Needless to say that this was a wasted investment. It’s mind boggling how many guests do not see the correlation of an open roof window left open when it’s already raining…
I have to blame myself there. He did message asking what should he do before leaving and I replied ‘Oh nothing’- thinking he meant the rubbish etc
It was a good reminder to me to promptly check the place once guests leave.
Also, men are quite literal. In general, what you say is exactly what they hear- they aren’t as nuanced in perception as women are. If you say “Oh, nothing”, that literally means “nothing” to them.
I read a book called “You Just Don’t Understand”, years ago, by a sociologist/psychologist about the differences in the way men and women communicate.
An example she gave was you are on a long drive with your husband, and are hungry and want to stop for something to eat. She suggested that women say exactly that- "I’m hungry, I’d like to stop somewhere to grab something to eat ". If instead, you ask, “Are you hungry?”, another woman is likely to answer, “Not really, but if you are, we can stop for a meal”. A man is more likely to answer, “Not really”, and keep on driving.
I agree. A host must be very very clear about everything.
I see these things as a positive, having learned this time to promptly check my place on a guests departure so things are turned off and the place is locked up.
It’s part of my house so easy to do.
I had to smile at your comment ‘ not as nuanced as women’- so delicately put!!
So I received the dreaded review (3 stars, which luckily was the worst I could get and stay a super host) and feel like I should reply ONLY because so much is wrong in the review and I doubt Airbnb would remove it. Below are the pics of his review and then my initial stream of conscious thoughts. I believe that only hosts can see the details under the categories? Or is it only THE host?I appreciate any and all advice you are willing to provide. Thanx in advance!
The arrival guide indicates the August Smart Lock app is required to get in (and assistance would have been provided in person if you checked in when you said). You received the link for it directly from them once you provided your desired check-in appointment time. Additionally, Airbnb sent you an email a couple days before that had this information in it. So, yes the “add” (ad or listing) did not mention the August Smart Lock app by name. I will be sure to add it, along with pictures, to assist those who do not choose to read.
I did not wait to tell you about the spare key. I was at an event that I told you would be difficult for me to get back to you right away and asked you to have patience if you had any issues getting in after you failed to show up at your requested appointment time. Had you done so I would have been able to replace the batteries on the smart lock immediately. The House Rules are clear that I must have the full names of all people entering my home and since 2 additional people entered I charged you. Had you let me know ahead of time (or even just showed up on time for your check-in appointment) that issue could have been completely avoided.
[I feel like I should pursue the extra $120 (he may have originally been charged for $30 more Airbnb fee and taxes, but in my experience, when it is paid after a booking is complete none of that actually gets charged on top of the host’s request…anyone else have a different experience?].
Had you informed me you could not get the TV to work I would have offered to provide assistance. I understand your star reviews except for the 4 for cleanliness. What was not clean? As it was you used towels from the linen closet instead of what was put out on the towel rack for you. It is very unfortunate that you did not arrive on time (or even communicate that you were running over an hour late) as had you arrived on time, none of the issues you had would have escalated as they did.
The purpose of responses is to clarify misrepresentations or lies in reviews for the benefit of future guests, or to indicate that you have remedied an issue which the guest had a valid complaint about.
You should not address the reviewing guest in the response- keep it in the third person. Also keep it brief.
Something along the lines of “All the check-in issues this guest mentions were due to them arriving an hour past the ETA they had given me, with no update on timing, and failing to read the arrival guide.
House rules are clear re informing the host of all guests that will be arriving. This was ignored.
And the issue with the TV could have been easily dealt with had this guest actually informed me that it wasn’t working.”
Don’t mention the 4 stars for cleanliness, nor the towels- the guest said in the review the place was clean and future guests have no idea she gave you a 4 for cleanliness. And nothing about towels was mentioned in the review- responses should only address what is said in the review. The towel thing belongs in the review you leave for the guest, not in the review response.
I accepted a request a few days ago from a guest who had all good reviews but one outlier. I went to cross-reference how the host reviews his other guests and on his profile saw he had left a horrible response to a legitimate guest complaint. Even though he had almost 200 good reviews, that response would keep me from ever wanting to book with that host.
The guest had said the place was full of air fresheners, which triggered her asthma and allergies. The host’s response was dismissive and sarcastic and totally missed the point that he should not have air fresheners in his rental . “I guess you should have let me know beforehand what your favorite scents are.”
I would never leave a response like that! And I understand the response is for other guests and that the star details are not to be responded to publicly. That was just my initial feelings. And I do for the nice mind to be able to provide suggestions, which you did wonderfully, thank you!!
Totally understand about your example host response not getting it, as well.
P.S. My guest was a guy who tried to be intimidating. And I expect that he just didn’t know how to work the TV because he didnt read the instructions to verify that the WiFi switch was actually on.
I definitely wasn’t insinuating you would leave a response like that host did, I was just using it as an example of how a host’s response can turn prospective guests off, regardless of how many good reviews a host has. (I’ve read similar type responses before- hosts who seem to not be able to handle the slightest criticism, even valid ones, or respond professionally)
And I also realize you were probably just venting your frustration with this guest with what you posted here.
In some cases, I think personally messaging a guest to let them know it isn’t fair to blame the host for the guest’s own lack of attention to instructions, and poor communication, and what they could have done differently, so they hopefully don’t do the same to future hosts, is okay, but with guests like this, it would be pointless. He obviously absolves himself of all personal responsibility for his behavior, so best to just keep the response to simple explanation of why the guest could easily have avoided his “issues”.
